Custom Fashion - Have you ever commissioned a garment from a tailor?

[lucy92]

has anyone ever asked their tailor to create a garment from scratch?

 

[bird milk]

I commission approximately one dress a year. It's usually based on a dress I've seen elsewhere but isn't quite "perfect" for me. For example, once I saw a beautiful Topshop dress but! with a very short hemline, so the tailor made me a similar dress (also used better quality fabric, which I think is very important) with a longer hemline.

 

[Tinetush]

^That sounds like a great idea.

Normally no, but I am thinking about having a pea coat made, I always have difficulty finding great autumn/winter coats that fit. But I'm guessing it will be costly and I'm not sure I trust my local tailors

I was in Vietnam a few years ago where I had something made, some pieces more successful than others. I went a wee bit crazy and had stuff made that I hadn't thought through. But the coats I got there (two trenches, one in beige and one in navy wool) fit like a glove, and even though I don't wear them as often as I once did they are both classics that I'll always be able to wear.
I'm considering dying the beige trench though. I think the reason that I'm not wearing it that often is that it's a bit too light for my taste..

 

[nuitblanche]

Oh, I have always wanted to do this! I live in Hong KOng and travel frequently to Shanghai/Beijing, you would think that here would be the capital of the world to do this kind of thing but I'm still not sure where to go! Most of the local tailors/fabric markets specialize in making suits and work clothes, but much fewer are willing to make dresses.

bird_milk, where are you from and how do you usually go about doing this? I'm really interested and would love to try it out!

 

[yesitsdagny]

I absolutely love custom made clothing! I have a few tailors among my acquaintances and I've used their services quite many times. For example I had my graduation dress made by a tailor and it fit me perfectly and no one else had a similar dress. If you want to look original and want your clothes fit you perfectly, then there's nothing better than having your clothes done by a skilled tailor.
I think nowadays people use this opinion less, as there are tons of shops and options to get your clothes from but my mother always tells me how all her clothes were made by a tailor when she was young as there were no clothes sold in the shops at that time (1980s Soviet counties had a huge deficit of any kind of consumer goods). I really envy her by that matter, I wish I could have all my clothes made specially for me as well.

 

[Legyviel]

I had my prom dress made by a tailor because I simply couldn't find anything that was available, affordable and that I really liked in the stores and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. It fit perfectly and was reasonably priced.
However, that was back in my home country and I have no clue what it costs to have a piece of custom clothing made in the UK or anywhere else!
I'm also lucky enough to have a mom who knows how to sew, so if i need a simple skirt (or something else that is not too difficult) I just ask her to make it

 

[two months off]

I got things done quite often; mostly dresses, jackets & costumes. Now that I know how to sew I do most of them myself.

 

[floodette]

I love doing custom fashion, and I have a very trusted dressmaker (she even get commissioned to make my cousin's wedding dress, which is breathakingly pretty!!!). Now I just bought 4 pieces of handmade woven tissue and I am looking for dress ideas to be commissioned again. Good idea, birdmilk, to copy from existing model with some variation.
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[lucy92]

has anyone presented a pattern to a tailor? i see vintage patterns being sold on ebay all the time...i wonder what people are doing with these patterns. i wonder if these people are hobbyists or fashion designers/companies themselves purchasing the patterns...

do you think asking someone to make a pattern would be outrageously expensive?

i also wonder if it would be worth perusing vintage editions of Vogue patterns magazine for ideas.

i have very little knowledge about pattern making or sewing.